running. heart pounding, eyes blurred with tears that force their way from her eyes against her will. she'd seen something she never wanted to see again, something she wanted to erase from her memory entirely. she shouldn't have been there, she should have left before anything happened, but she didn't.
she stayed. that was her mistake.
she was scolded constantly for running in the corridors of the palace, but this time nobody was around to stop her. she just kept going.
she ran until she saw huge wooden doors ahead of her, and didn't pause to push them open. they swung away, agonizingly slow, but as soon as the gap was big enough she ran through into the library.
she was the only one who still visited it, really; her mother used to, but once she was born she opted to stay and care for her child instead. all of her schooling was done in the study next to her bedroom, and books necessary for research would have been taken from the library in advance. she still went there regularly, however, finding solace in old books, sofas and mugs of tea when she needed it most.
she walked past one of the larger seats and picked up a book from on top of the cushions, not paying attention to the title. she found her favourite armchair - a large one hidden inbetween aisles of novels. sometimes she would wrap the knitted throw around her shoulders in winter and let her layers of thick jumpers and socks keep her warm as she read. she got past the third page before the tears welled up again and blurred her vision too much to see through.
she let them fall; small rainstorms, tear-tracks like rivers on a smooth, pale landscape. every time she blinked she could see that image in her view again: her beloved mother, a dagger twisted in her gut and bleeding out quickly, her father stood cold and uncaring above her like a marble statue.
she should have left while she had the chance. run away from the royal life, escaped to freedom when she was offered it. instead she stayed behind with her mother in the hopes that she would feel less alone with her daughter.
she should have left.
